The information below is for historical reference only.

Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA) ceased on 1 January 2022 because adjusted disability income became exempt income under the Social Security Act 1991.  It was an income support payment paid by DVA to people whose income support payment under Social Security Law was reduced, or not payable, because of the impact of adjusted disability pension. DFISA was the difference between the person's existing entitlement, and what the entitlement would have been had adjusted DP been exempt, but was assessed in the calculation of rent assistance.

On 1 January 2022, both DFISA and the Disability Income Rent Test were removed.   Thus the term Adjusted Disability Pension was made redundant.  The following is for historical reference only.

Section 118NA of the VEA defined adjusted disability pension as:

• disability pension (known as disability compensation payment from 2022) paid under Parts II or IV of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA); and
• permanent impairment payments and special rate disability pension paid under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.

Adjusted disability pension did not include war widow's/widower's pension, or payments made by other governments to compensate for war or service related injuries.

From 1 January 2022, DFISA and the Disability Income Rent Test were removed.  The information below is for historical purposes only.

For DFISA purposes, if the person was entitled to rent assistance, the adjusted DP was used to calculate a rent assistance reduction amount in order to determine the notional rent assistance rate. Calculation of the rent assistance reduction amount used the same taper rates and income free area as applied to the person's income support payment.

Note: This step was only for DFISA calculation purposes and did not affect the person's actual payment of rent assistance. The notional rent assistance calculation was similar to the former disability income rent test used to calculate rent assistance for service pensioners, income support supplement and veteran payment recipients.